


Keeping Your Love Warm for the Holidays

by fractionallyfoxtrot



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Domestic Fluff, Established Relationship, Multi, Polyamory
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-11-04
Updated: 2015-11-04
Packaged: 2018-04-30 00:12:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,674
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5143151
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fractionallyfoxtrot/pseuds/fractionallyfoxtrot
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>An unexpected package from Percy’s mum brings gifts and the reminder that Christmas isn’t that far away.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Keeping Your Love Warm for the Holidays

Percy stretched out on the sofa, idly flipping through channels on the telly. The football match he’d sat down to watch had been delayed due to weather, leaving him with some unexpected time on his hands. He glanced down at where Leon was lying at his side. Leon had found something to do in the lull; his brow pinched as he read, presumably, work emails on his mobile. Percy was just about to remind him that it was Saturday when the sound of the front door flying open reverberated through the flat.

“I’ve got pizza!” Gwaine shouted from the other room. Something less audible followed before he called out again. “Where is everybody?”

“Living room,” Percy and Leon said in unison.

Gwaine appeared seconds later, carrying clearly more than just pizza. Two pizza boxes topped the stack of things Gwaine carried in his arms as he kicked an ottoman out from under the coffee table. He distributed everything one layer at a time: first, the pizza boxes going down on the coffee table and second, his camera bag and jacket being set down near the telly.

Finally, he put a brown box on the ottoman in front of the sofa.

“What’s that?” Percy asked as Leon turned to look at it.

“Your package,” Gwaine said, sounding like he expected that to make sense. He cocked his head when Percy gave a shrug. “Didn’t you hear me say there was a package out front?”

Percy shook his head. Leon sat up, freeing Percy to move in closer, and picked up the box with ease.

“It’s from your mum,” he said, pointing at the return address. “Did you know she was sending you something?”

Percy shook his head again. “She didn’t mention anything last time we talked.”

Gwaine sat down on Percy’s other side, brandishing his pocket knife. “Can we?” he asked with a grin.

Leon rolled his eyes as Percy laughed, handing the box over to Gwaine for opening. Gwaine shook it once - it didn’t make a sound - before making quick work of the packing tape wrapped around the edges and over the middle seam at the top. He opened the flaps and gave Percy the folded card sitting right on top of the contents. It was addressed to all three of them in Percy’s mum’s handwriting. Leon leaned into Percy’s shoulder as Percy read his mum’s note.

“Is she okay?” Leon asked.

“Did she send cookies?” Gwaine added.

“She’s fine,” Percy assured, skimming over the greetings and updates on his mum and sisters. “But I don’t think she sent cookies.” He read aloud from the second half of the note. “ _I saw on the news that there’s going to be a storm in your area. They’re predicting records lows and lots of snow. I’m sending your heavy jumper and a few other things to keep you three safe and warm._ ”

Percy’s gray and black wool jumper came out of the box next. He smiled as Gwaine handed it to him, letting Leon take the card to free his hands. The jumper was one of his favorites, a soft, heavy pullover his mum made him years ago, one he usually kept at the house for when he visited because the winters were colder there. He gathered the jumper in his lap, pressing the collar to his nose for a moment, indulging in the familiar smell of home that still clung to the wool.

Leon looked up from reading the note. “Other things?”

“Hats!” Gwaine announced, answering Leon’s question as he produced a knit hat from the box. He immediately pulled it on, the snug fit pressing his fringe down on his forehead.

Percy’s smile grew as Gwaine tugged at the hat, trying to get it to sit in a way he liked. The hat was new - Percy had never seen it before - but he easily recognized his mum’s handiwork from a lifetime of homemade hats, jumpers, and scarves. The hat was mostly red, textured in a bold crimson color and bordered by a white stripe running along the edge. A small lion, also in white, featured over Gwaine’s ear, prompting Percy to pluck the hat off his head.

“I think this is Leon’s,” Percy explained when Gwaine looked affronted. He turned to Leon and put the hat on him, tugging it down until only an edge of Leon’s curls peeked out from under it.

Leon touched his hand to the hat. “Did she make these?”

Percy nodded, appreciating the way Leon looked impressed by that. “Mum made all of my hats growing up; jumpers and gloves and scarves too. She can make just about anything.” He smiled and added, “It looks good on you.”

“You think so?”

Percy leaned in to steal a quick kiss in answer. “Red’s your color.”

Leon blushed at the compliment, helping to prove Percy’s point. Percy was tempted to kiss him properly but Gwaine vied for his attention, nudging him in the side as he held up two more hats. One was a dark hunter green in the beanie style Percy preferred, sporting a small white bear above the bottom edge in the same design as Leon’s lion. The other was bright cobalt blue, made out of a yarn that had flecks of silver in it. It was longer in style than the first two hats, topped with a blue and white pompom; a small white wolf featured above its base.

“I think that’s yours,” Percy said, pointing to the blue hat.

Gwaine grinned as he pulled the hat on. “I’ve always wanted something like this.”

Percy smiled as Gwaine leaned forward to look at Leon, making Leon and Percy laugh when he turned his head at different angles to model the hat. They all agreed that both Leon and Gwaine looked good in their gifts; Percy, however, chose not to voice just how much he enjoyed seeing them in things his mum had made specifically for them. There was an obvious mutual fondness in the hats and the eagerness with which Gwaine and Leon wore them that filled Percy up with joy.

The feeling only grew as he reached for the box and pulled out three scarves, one to match each of the hats.

Gwaine snagged the blue one and looped it around his neck while Percy took the liberty of draping Leon with his.

“I think my mum just made her bid for Christmas dinner,” Percy said, loosely tying off Leon’s scarf.

Leon sighed and smiled, shaking his head as he ran his hand over the scarf. “I’m not ready to think about holiday logistics yet.”

“It’s October,” Percy reminded him. “We’re going to have to think about it sooner or later.”

“My mum wants Boxing Day,” Gwaine said, lying back across Percy and Leon’s laps. “She’s willing to forgo Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, and New Year’s Eve and Day for all of Boxing Day because my sister-“

Leon’s hand muffled the rest of Gwaine’s sentence. “Not yet,” he said firmly, looking down at Gwaine. “At least let me have October before we start talking about Christmas.”

Gwaine moved Leon’s hand. “Okay, but remember-“

“Your mum wants Boxing Day.” Leon trailed his hand down Gwaine’s scarf, grabbing the white fringed end to tickle Gwaine’s nose. “Duly noted.”

Gwaine turned into Leon, both to hide his face and to get at Leon’s sides where he and Percy both knew Leon was ticklish. Leon squirmed and tried to twist away but Percy grabbed him and kissed him, grinning at the feel of Leon’s laughter and light-hearted protests against his lips. His fingers ran along the edge of Leon’s hat as Percy pulled Leon close, taking the opportunity to kiss him properly when he sensed Gwaine had stopped tickling him. He broke the kiss only to pull Gwaine up and kiss him too, his hand curling around Gwaine’s scarf as Gwaine happily accepted his turn to be kissed.

“We should call your mum and thank her,” Leon said when Percy turned to kiss him again.

“She’ll probably ask about the holidays.”

“You should call your mum and thank her,” Leon amended after a long pause.

Gwaine laughed. “Are you scared of Percy’s mum?”

“I’m not scared of her,” Leon argued.

“I know,” Percy said, distracting each of them with a kiss. He found and squeezed Leon’s hand quickly before slipping out from under Gwaine to get off the sofa. “I’ll call her and then we can eat.”

Gwaine and Leon agreed, Leon reminding Percy to tell his mum how much they appreciated her gifts. Percy went to the bedroom to get his mobile and dialed his mum as he turned around to head back to the living room. She questioned him about the package as soon as he said ‘hello.’

“Does everything fit?” she asked over Percy trying to thank her. “I haven’t seen you three since Easter and I had to guess their sizes. Have they tried everything on? Is Leon’s hat too small? Does Gwaine think the scarf is too long?”

“They have tried everything on, Mum, and it all fits just fine.”

Percy stopped at the entrance to the living room, smiling at the sight before him. Gwaine had laid back across the sofa again, his feet propped up on the armrest, his head sitting in Leon’s lap. He was talking about his day while Leon toyed with the pompom on his hat, Leon’s own hat still pulled over his curls; their matching scarves were still tied around their necks. Leon laughed and Gwaine practically beamed at the sound.

“Everything’s perfect,” Percy assured his mum.

“Oh, I’m so glad! It’s so important to stay dry and warm during a storm. Now, Percy, I know it’s early to be asking but do you think we’ll be seeing you three at Christmas this year?”

Percy shook his head and turned back down the hall to keep his answer from being heard in the living room.

“Maybe, but don’t count us in for Boxing Day. I’ve heard we might have plans.”

**Author's Note:**

> Please check out this [_wonderfully adorable_ drawing of the boys in their hats](http://tracionn.tumblr.com/post/131038807119/leon-percy-and-gwaine-taking-a-selfie-while) commissioned by the always lovely [tracionn](http://tracionn.tumblr.com/) and drawn by the amazing [inchells](http://inchells.tumblr.com/).


End file.
